1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle light.
2. Description of the Related Art
Motor vehicle lights are known in the art. For example, published German Patent Application DE 197 40 317 C1 discloses a light source and a light conductor which includes a decoupling volume that is bordered from a first side and a second side opposite the first side. The second side includes deflection surfaces for diverting incident light toward the first side such that the light is decoupled, and is distributed about a principal emission direction. The light further includes a shield that is arranged behind the second side in a direction opposite to the principal emission direction. The shield is a colored shield and determines the color of the motor vehicle light with the light source switched off, in that it reflects only a portion of the spectrum of the incident white daylight. When the light source is switched on, this affects the color of the light emitted from the motor vehicle light. This is undesirable because it distorts the signal color. In this context, the first and the second side of the light conductor of the light known in the art have been realized as plane-parallel sides. The light of the light source is coupled directly into the light conductor volume, bordered by the plane-parallel sides by a non-curved narrow side of the light conductor.
Light conductors are increasingly used for lights in modern vehicles. Illumination systems of motor vehicles are differentiated into either headlamps or lights. Headlights serve to illuminate the roadway \as to allow drivers to identify obstructions and react accordingly. Lights, on the other hand, serve to indicate to other road users the presence and/or the intended behavior of the motor vehicle. Such lights may be used on the front, on the sides, or on the rear of motor vehicle (for example, a daytime running light is a front light, brake lights and taillights are tail lamps, flashing lights are used on all four sides, and position lamps are used on the sides). Further, with lights in general, a flat image of the illuminated surface is increasingly desirable for some light functions.
The light known in the art has a highly voluminous light conductor, at which the light is coupled in by short side surfaces of the light conductor and is decoupled by a long front side. The emission of light occurs parallel to the coupling surface and therefore approximately perpendicular to the propagation direction of the light to be coupled. The voluminous shape of the light conductor also requires a comparatively large installation space, has a comparatively high mass, and has a comparatively large trans-illuminated light conductor volume. The comparatively large trans-illuminated light conductor volume also results in a corresponding high loss by absorption. Because of the high absorption, a large requirement of light must be coupled in, which must be provided by efficient (and thus expensive) light sources.